The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the department concerned with education, (the United States Department of Education) as the name suggests. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet.
Until 1979, there was one Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, uniting this department with the Department of Health and Human Services, which is now headed by a separate Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Name
Term of Office
President(s) served under Shirley Hufstedler[?]
November 30, 1979 - January 20, 1981
Jimmy Carter Terrell Bell[?]
January 22, 1981 - January 20, 1985
Ronald Reagan William J. Bennett
February 6, 1985 - 1988
Ronald Reagan Lauro Cavazos[?]
September 20, 1988 - December 12, 1990
Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush Lamar Alexander[?]
March 22, 1991 - January 20, 1993
George H. W. Bush Richard Riley[?]
January 21, 1993 - January 20, 2001
Bill Clinton Roderick Paige[?]
January 20, 2001 - present
George W. Bush